Sarah Ryan Enright
Ocean Governance Researcher
Sarah is an Irish qualified lawyer with over 15 years’ experience in the public and non-profit sector. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from University College Cork, Ireland (UCC) and a Master’s degree in European and International Law from the European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Sarah qualified as a lawyer in 2007 and practiced before the Irish courts until 2009. Sarah subsequently worked with the European Union and the United Nations on a range of public law issues, covering environmental law, human rights, and international criminal law. Between 2018-2022, Sarah completed a PhD in Marine Environmental Law at UCC, which examined the international legal framework for the establishment of Transboundary Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and associated case studies. As part of this research, Sarah published the first peer reviewed legal analysis of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR) in conjunction with the CMAR Secretariat. She has published on ocean law and governance in various media, from academia and grey literature to TV and news media. Since 2022 Sarah has worked as an ocean governance researcher at CDF and is Project Manager for the Deep Ocean Program, which operates across the Eastern Tropical Pacific.
Sarah's stories
Sarah's programs
Ocean
Ocean governanceEcologically, the ocean is one interconnected system. Yet international law has divided it into arbitrary maritime zones based on geopolitical interests. Our research seeks to improve transnational ocean governance and conservation outcomes in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, through collaboration with scientists, academics, practitioners, and decision-makers.
Ocean
Deep-ocean Exploration & ConservationThe Eastern Tropical Pacific conceals extraordinary, vast deep-ocean ecosystems, plunging from oceanic islands to depths of 3,800 meter, most of which remain largely unexplored, presenting real challenges for effective protection and management. Despite their significance, these ecosystems are poorly understood and subject to persistent threats, including overfishing, climate change, pollution, and the prospect for deep-sea mining.